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A game of “follow the liter” ends in DWI arrest

Animal complaints

“Bullet” left behind: An officer was sent to the 6400 block of Lower 56th Street North on Oct. 5 on reports of a found dog. Upon arrival, the officer located a small black dog with brown spots. The caller told the officer the dog’s name was “Bullet,” and the owner had been evicted and left the pet behind. The dog was impounded.

Abracadabra: A woman requested police assistance after discovering a white rabbit in the yard of her home on the 3500 block of Gentry Avenue North Oct. 16. She said she believes the rabbit is someone’s pet. The bunny was captured with a net and transported to the animal shelter.

Suspicious Activity

Waiting for deliverance: An officer stopped at a bus stop at the intersection of 15th Street North and Granada Avenue North Oct. 5 after a man was spotted waving his arms above his head and “acting strange” with a child nearby. The officer spoke with the man, who said he was praying to the gods to take the pain away from the bulging disc in his back. The child, he explained, was his godson and they were waiting for the bus to take them back to St. Paul.

Forensic taste test: A cleaning crew at a foreclosed home on the 1600 block of Hilo Avenue North called police after they discovered rotting meat in a garage chest freezer Oct. 16. They asked officers to confirm the meat was from an animal and “not human.” The officers determined the meat was from livestock and intended for human consumption. The crew was advised they could dispose of the freezer and its contents.

Rodent roadkill: A resident called to inform officers that the partial body of a muskrat had been thrown onto the driveway of his home on the 2400 block of Homestead Avenue North between 10 p.m. Oct. 21 and noon Oct. 22. The caller reported it was the back half of the animal, and said he had not seen or heard anything.

Welfare checks

Tooling around: A man called the police the evening of Oct. 5 after his home on the 4700 block of Geneva Avenue North filled with smoke. He told dispatchers he had accidentally left a plastic toolbox on the stove and it melted. The smoke had cleared by the time the officer arrived.

A matter of faith: A man called the Oakdale Police Department Oct. 21 around 3 a.m. from the 1500 block of Granada Avenue North to report that he was “upset with his church” and believed it was a cult. The officer spoke with the man and offered him options for how to “avoid future issues” with the church.

Thefts

A birch to clean up: A theft was reported Oct. 7 by a contractor who said equipment worth about $14,500 was stolen from a home on the 6200 block of 50th Street North between Sept. 24 and Sept. 30. Prior to being evicted, the contractor said, an unknown suspect or suspects stole a hot water heater, A/C coil, heat exchange unit and $4,500 worth of solid birch kitchen cabinetry. There was no additional information regarding the stolen items or the suspects.

Teed off: An officer was sent to Saxon Companies Oct. 15 after a caller reported a set of golf clubs missing. The sports equipment was stolen from his vehicle, which “may or may not” have been locked, between 8:45 a.m. and 5 p.m. The total estimated value of the items was about $2,000. There are no suspects.

DWI

Blown sobriety tests: An Oakdale officer stopped a vehicle near the intersection of 10th Street North and Hadley Avenue North Oct. 5 after the officer observed the vehicle run a red light, spin out, drive over the curb and into the boulevard. The driver failed field sobriety tests, blew a .31 preliminary blood-alcohol breath test and was booked at the Washington County jail.

Following the “liter”: An officer was called to a residence on the 6800 block of 7th Street North in the early morning on Oct. 10 after a motorist called to report that a vehicle had followed him home and parked behind him in his driveway. When officers arrived, the driver of the second vehicle was slumped over the steering wheel and her car was parked only halfway into the driveway. The motorist failed field sobriety tests and was booked at Washington County jail, where she blew a .18 blood-alcohol concentration.

Harassing Communications

Hacked computer: A man called police Oct. 12 to report that five people had been sending him harassing messages through an online video game he plays on his girlfriend’s computer.
He believes the computer has been hacked and the people sending the “racist comments” have his and his girlfriend’s information.
He told police he stopped playing the game for a while, but when he logged on at the beginning of the month, there were more messages. He believes the people sending the messages are from Texas, but doesn’t know who they are.

Vandalism

Recipe for destruction: An officer was dispatched to the 4500 block of Helena Road North the morning of Oct. 17 after a homeowner called to report his home had been vandalized. The victim’s garage had been egged and chocolate syrup had been poured on the front window of the home. Several straw figures from the homeowner’s autumn lawn display were thrown around the yard.